Unranked Family
by Sidewinder566
Summary: Six years after the 4th Hokage seals the Nine Tailed Fox into his daughter, jonins Genma Shiranui, Might Guy, and Raido Namashi find themselves on an unranked mission with six year olds Naruto Shiranui and Sasuke Uchiha to bring all Konoha shinobi who left willingly back to the village. This mission will take them all over their world, while Lord Third has a plan for their village.
1. An Unranked Mission

It had been six years since the Fourth Hokage and his wife sacrificed their lives to save the village from a rampaging Nine-Tails by sealing the fox into the barely hour old Naruto. Six years since the last loyal student of the Fourth Hokage left the village, vowing never to return. Six years since half of Team Choza had barged into the hokage office and begged to be allowed to go after him since they failed to stop him from leaving. The Third Hokage forbid it at that time, but swore not to label the teen a missing-nin, and gave the two teens the unranked mission of raising Naruto Namikaze, but with the village believing the daughter of the Fourth and the Nine Tailed Fox to be dead her name was to be Naruto Shiranui. It was a major distraction technique, but it worked. He would later regret this action when Choza barged into his office, holding two of his students by the collars of their shirts away from each other and off the floor and told the hokage to explain to his students that green spandex jumpsuits don't belong on babies and that senbon were not good teething toys.

Tonight however, tonight had been horrible. Shisui and Itachi Uchiha had chosen to follow precedence and left the village without becoming missing-nin over a year ago. Tonight the Uchiha clan had tried to stage an uprising. All were killed by ANBU and Root, except for Sasuke Uchiha, who had been with Naruto at Genma and Guy's apartment for a sleepover. The Third Hokage sent an ANBU to get Genma. He would rather deal with the level headed adult than the loud one that was Guy. The man soon arrived at the window and gracefully entered the office.

"You called?" asked Genma, giving the man a mocking salute.

"Are you aware of what happened tonight?" asked the Hokage.

"Are you aware I just left two six year olds alone with Guy?" fired back the laid back ninja. Lord Third rubbed his temples.

"The Uchiha clan tried to stage an uprising. They were all eliminated except for Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui by ANBU," stated the hokage calmly. He could see the wheels in Genma's head turning.

"And you want me to what exactly?" asked Genma, rolling the senbon in his mouth to the other side.

"I want you to raise Sasuke alongside Naruto," said the hokage. He began mentally counting.

"You want me to what?" bellowed the usually calm man.

"You heard me Genma," said Lord Third.

"What about Itachi? Or Shisui even?" said Genma. He liked Sasuke, he really did. Yet Naruto was a handful on her own. Plus the elders would constantly be on Genma's case about the loyal, in the village Uchiha. There was also Guy to consider.

"Consider it part of your unranked assignment," said Lord Third, which caught Genma's attention almost immediately.

"What unranked assignment?" asked Genma, considering shooting his senbon at the annoying man in front of him.

"I want you to bring all Konoha shinobi home. I was even nice and made a list. You will be taking Guy, a shinobi of your choice, Naruto, and Sasuke. I will of course explain everything to Sasuke before you leave," stated Lord Third, a scroll appearing in his hands.

"What do you mean by 'all Konoha shinobi'?" asked Genma, not liking the smirk the hokage had on his face. The hokage tossed the scroll to Genma, who opened it to find a list of names, all of whom were Hidden Leaf shinobi who left the village voluntarily, for different reasons.

 _Jirayia of the Sannin_

 _Orochimaru of the Sannin_

 _Tsunade Senju of the Sannin_

 _Kinoe Senju_

 _Shizune Kato_

 _Anko Mitarashi_

 _Sakumo Hatake_

 _Kakashi Hatake_

 _Rin Nohara_

 _Roukan Inuzuka_

 _Asuma Sarutobi_

 _Itachi Uchiha_

 _Shisui Uchiha_

"What ever I did to piss you off, I'm so extremely sorry," said Genma.

"I need you to do this Genma. I need Naruto and Sasuke out of the village and at the same time I need all the shinobi I can. I know they all had their reasons for leaving but I need them all back. I don't care how long or what it takes. I have had ANBU bring Sasuke, Naruto, and Guy to the tower. I will explain what has happened and what will happen to them. I need you to bring your third teammate here so I can brief them and then your mission is to start immediately. Understood?" stated the homage.

"Understood," said Genma. With his third teammate's name in his mind, Genma body flickered to the roof and took off running across the rooftops. Reaching his friend and occasional partner's apartment building he walked down and across the wall to the apartment door. He knocked then waited. After a few minutes and cursing from inside the apartment, the door opened and Raido Namiashi stood before him dressed in just sleep pants.

"Gen I have been back barely twenty-four hours..." warned Raido.

"Then you are still mostly packed, Rai," said Genma. He ducked the punch at his head and laughed as his best friend went back into the apartment mumbling under his breath. Raido threw on clothes and started repacking his gear.

"How long is this mission supposed to last?" Raidou called over his shoulder.

"Unranked. The hokage will explain. Can you meet me at the tower when you're done? I gotta go pack myself," said Genma.

"I don't have much of a choice," mumbled Raido. Genma body flickered to the apartment he shared with Guy. Guy was just entering the apartment himself.

"I'll pack mine and Naruto's stuff," offered Genma as both men moved to their respective bedrooms, Guy nodded in agreement. Genma packed weapons, ration bars, his tent and camping equipment, all his medical supplies, all of his clothes, even his books and pictures went into a storage scroll. He stuffed the scrolls into his backpack and threw it on his back after clipping his sleeping bag to the bottom. He then moved into Naruto's room. He packed all of her clothes, her books, and her most used toys into scrolls. He stuffed her favorite toy, a stuffed orange frog, into an outside pocket of the backpack. He clipped her sleeping bag to the bottom of pack. Luckily the first time they had taken Naruto camping, Guy had, in a stroke of brilliance, attached clips to the straps of Naruto's backpack, allowing Genma to clip it to his own backpack. Genma walked back into the living room as Guy finished putting food and medicine from the kitchen into a scroll before putting it into his own bag. Genma knew that the apartment was now bare except for furniture. After all an unranked mission could take years.

"The Hokage had an ANBU pack Sasuke's stuff for him," said Guy. Genma nodded. He could see the kids holding each other in the Hokage's office. The men packed quickly and flickered to outside the Hokage's office. They were immediately ushered in by an ANBU. Raido shot a glare over his shoulder at Genma. The kids were hugging each other in front of him and ignoring the adults. Sasuke was sobbing into Naruto's shoulder and she was whispering in his ear. The hokage looked sad.

"All of you have had the mission explained to you. I have composed scrolls on each of the individuals, such as who they are sometimes with and their last known locations," said the Third Hokage. He handed Genma a storage scroll.

"That contains the scrolls and the first month expenses, quite a few supplies, and stipends. I will take care of everything for you in the village," said Lord Third.

"So to summarize...You want us three assassins to carry two little kids all over the Shinobi Nations looking for shinobi who willingly left the village, all of whom could and probably will try to kill us, without a tracker?" asked Raido.

"Yes," answered the hokage.

"Terrific," mumbled Raido.

"Who is the lead on this mission?" asked Guy.

"Genma," answered Lord Third.

"You just want all the strays from all the Shinobi Nations, don't you?" grumbled Raido. Genma glared at him while Lord Third smirked, but didn't deny Raido's accusation. Genma's mother hen nature was well known after all.

"You can travel as shinobi in the Land of Fire, but once you cross our border, you will essentially be civilians. I expect weekly reports. I know this will take time, but the Land of Fire needs this to happen. You have your packs and your mission. I know this is not normal, but I need you five to leave now," said the Third Hokage, looking sadly at Naruto and Sasuke. Both had fallen asleep in each other's arms. Genma gently pried them apart and picked Naruto up bridal style while Guy did the same with Sasuke. After nodding to the hokage, the five vanished from the office with body flickers. They appeared outside the main gates of the village and took to the trees.

"Any ideas who to go after first?" asked Raido.

"The least likely to kill us," answered Genma.

"And who would that be?" asked Guy.

"I would say Itachi or Shisui but considering what happened with the Uchiha Clan tonight that would be a bad idea," said Raido, thinking.

"What about Kakashi?" asked Guy. Genma shook his head no.

"I don't want to approach him without either his teammate or his father," answered Raido.

"So do you want to go for Rin or Sakumo first? I would prefer Sakumo. He's not a tailed-beast host. Plus he's always been calm," said Genma. Raido and Guy both agreed.

"Guess we are going to get the White Fang first," announced Genma. When they came to a clearing, he jumped down, the others following. Raido took Naruto while Genma pulled out the scroll of supplies and information the hokage supplied and pulled out the scroll on Sakumo Hatake. He immediately frowned.

"This says he has been spotted in the Land of Frost off and on for the past two years with two weeks ago being the most recent," said Genma.

"That's a long way. Guess we get him then work our way through the other islands before coming back to the mainland?" suggested Raido. Guy turned a light shade of green at the prospect of riding in a boat, but said nothing against the plan.

"Sounds good. With any luck Roukan or Jirayia will be with him. If not, then at least Sakumo can help with almost everybody else. Rin was pissed at him for choosing to exile himself and leaving Kakashi behind. How Kakashi reacts upon seeing his father will be anyone's guess," said Genma.

"What if Sakumo does not want to help the village that basically threw him out?" asked Guy. Genma frowned. He missed how exuberant his teammate used to be before Kakashi left. He was a little exuberant around the kids but not like he used to be.

"Then we will just have to convince him. I will not fail this mission," said Genma.

"So we are headed to Frost?" asked Raido, just to double check.

"Yeah. I suggest we move it will the kids are asleep. The hokage seemed to want us out of the Land of Fire. So let's move," said Genma. He stored the scrolls back into his backpack and took Naruto back from Raido. Then they once again became blurs in the trees.

* * *

Back in his office in the village Hidden in the Leaves, Third Hokage Hizuzen Sarutobi watched the sun start to rise. He said nothing when Jonin Commander Shikaku Nara entered the office. For a few minutes neither spoke.

"Are you sure about this plan, Lord Third?" asked the Nara, worry creasing his brow.

"Shikaku those two kids are our last major treasures. Those three men are the best we have. You know it and I know it. With the Uchiha gone, we are vulnerable. Only a select few know Naruto's true identity. Even fewer know Sasuke Uchiha survived the night. We are to keep it that way. In a few years I will be able to perform the ritual. Then our treasures can come home. Until then its best if they are with our best shinobi and away from here," explained the Third Hokage.

"They will have an army at that disposal by then," commented the Nara. The hokage smiled.

"That was part of the plan Shikaku," said the Sarutobi. "Kami willing, everything will go according to plan."


	2. Pink, Silver, and Ink

They had just about reached the border when Genma called for a break. The two six year olds had woken up and Genma prepared a simple breakfast over a campfire. The adults took turns and dressed as civilians. Naruto tried convincing Sasuke into playing with her, her stuffed frog against his stuffed crow. The Uchiha was silent, but Naruto persisted till he finally gave in. With the kids playing and burning off a little bit of energy, Genma spread out the map of the continent and it's islands again.

"Do we want to go the short route and go through the Land of Fang, or the long way through Earth?" asked Genma.

"Short," voted Raido.

"There is still a boat ride, so it doesn't matter to me. If we go through Earth and any of us get recognized, that will not end well," commented Guy.

"Especially since we have the kids with us," said Raido, glancing over his shoulder at the kids who were now playing tag.

"Fang is a little bit more open to outsiders. I guess we should fill up the canteens at the creek to keep up our water supply and start walking. We'll try for a ship at Moyagakure, but with us traveling as civilians and with kids that's still about a week's journey," said Genma.

"Since villages are usually spread out do you want to stop for the night at the first one we come to?" asked Raido.

"Depends on when we reach it," answered Genma. He stowed the map back into his bag and Raido went to go fill their five canteens up with water from the nearby creek when they heard the sounds of a skirmish. Raido fell back to guard the kids while Genma and Guy went to investigate.

They came across a caravan of wagons surrounded by dead bodies and what looked like Hidden Leaf ANBU at first glance. At second glance the two jonin noted the difference between ANBU masks and the masks the attackers were wearing as the attackers surrounded three kids. Two of the kids stood in front of the third, who was curled up on the ground. The two kids fighting, both boys, were using blades and what looked like ink. A tiger flew off the scroll in front of the smaller boy and took out one of the eight attackers. Genma and Guy exchanged glances. Genma made two clones and the four of them joined the fray, coming up behind the seven attackers. Genma, as a weapons and poisons expert, had poisoned weapons constantly on him and as he entered the fight accessed one of the seals in his civilian clothes and got a handful of kunai out of his pants pocket and without hesitation threw them into one of the attackers. They went down, and another one turned their attention to Genma. Thats when Genma heard it.

 _An Aburame? Interesting. Too bad Aburame vs Shiranui never goes in their favor_ thought Genma as he smirked, his hand flying flew the seals for the Summoning Jutsu. He slammed his hand on the ground in front of him and, after the smoke cleared, a spider almost as tall as Genma stood there, the sunlight reflecting off it's metallic purple hair.

"Little Shiranui. I assume I can feast on the chakra bugs?" greeted the spider.

"That was actually the plan, Murasaki," answered Genma as he jumped to defend the smaller boy from an attacker, poison senbon in his hand. Murasaki immediately started consuming the Aburame's bugs and they screamed in agony from Murasaki's poison. She swung one of her legs around towards the Aburame and released the hairs on that leg. They impaled the Aburame just as well as senbon or kunai would. By the time the body hit the ground the fight was over. Genma decided to focus on the kids while Guy searched the bodies for identification.

"What are your names?" asked Genma softly.

"I am Shin and he is Sai. We were supposed to help the attackers, but we couldn't hurt her. We protected her as best we could and so they turned against us, saying we weren't worth the training anymore," said the silver haired boy named Shin. With his hair color and skill with his tanto Genma could easily see the boy being a Hatake. With his black hair, black eyes, and pale complexion he could see the younger boy as an Uchiha if it wasn't for the weird ink jutsu he used. Genma had never seen that before.

"What about you?" Genma asked the pink haired girl trying to curl in on herself.

"S-Sakura H-haruno," stammered the girl, tears running down her face as she clutched her necklace. Genma's eyes went wide at the sight of the necklace before going to the wagons. All carried the symbol of the Haruno clan. All the bodies around the wagons had pink hair, a dominant trait in the Haruno clan. The Haruno clan was considered royalty among merchants as they traveled all over the continent selling their wares most of the year, but their base of operations was in the Hidden Leaf. For two clans of the Hidden Leaf, one a shinobi and one a civilian, to be massacred in less than twenty-four hours could not be coincidence. Genma frowned but was pulled from his thoughts by a loud voice.

"Dad! We got attacked by these two masked people and Uncle Rai said a lot of bad words but Uncle Rai beat them with Hyo's help and it was scary and cool all at the same time! Are you and Pop okay?! What happened?" said Naruto as she and Sasuke emerged from the woods on top of a black panther who was the size of a horse.

"What did I tell you about being loud, Cub?" grumbled Hyo, the black panther that was Raido's summons. Genma winced. Now five kids were going to be traumatized by murder and dead bodies.

"We are fine Naruto," answered Guy as Raido emerged from the woods. He did not look happy at all and had his sword thrown on his back. He all but stomped up to Genma with a 'what the hell happened' look on his face. When he got close to Genma Genma mumbled, "Check for other survivors."

Raido and Guy both did, discussing the attacks amongst themselves. They didn't find any survivors or any real identification, but they did find Land of Wind headbands. The two jonin exchanged looks, both worried.

Meanwhile Genma had introduced himself to the three new kids. He told them about the summons and pointed at the Leaf headbands Hyo had around his throat and Murasaki had on one of her front legs. Hyo let Naruto and Sasuke down, but him and Murasaki both stayed alert. After a minute the blonde girl approached the other three kids, dragging Sasuke with her.

"I'm Naruto Shiranui! This is my brother and best friend Sasuke Uchiha. That's my dad and that's my pop and that's Uncle Rai. They are all shinobi and me and Sasuke are gonna be shinobi. Are you? I'm gonna be Hokage when I grow up! Believe it!" rambled Naruto. Genma took advantage of the distraction and eased over to the other two adults.

"Well?" he asked. Raido shook his head.

"No survivors we can find or sense. It's odd though that we found Suna headbands on them when one of the people I fought was obviously a Hyuga. While we are on that topic can one of you please fix my arm?" said Raido as he held up his right arm. The tell telling bruises on it showed the blocked tenketsu. Genma muttered under his breath but unblocked them quickly.

"Murasaki took out an Aburame," commented Genma.

"The Hyuga and Aburame are all in the Leaf. Why attack the Haruno and wipe them essentially out? Why the Suna headbands?" inquired Guy.

"This doesn't bode well for the Leaf," answered Genma. He quickly unsealed the messenger hawk from the supply scroll as well as a blank message scroll. He quickly wrote a message to the Hokage and attached one of the Suna headbands to the hawk, using the headband. After sending the hawk off Genma turned his attention back to the five kids.

"Alright kiddos. Looks like we are camping nearby until we have word from the old boss man," said Genma as he and the other jonin started moving the kids and wagons away from where the fighting happened.

The hawk reached the Hokage Tower quickly. It pecked on the window to the office three times in rapid succession. Lord Third cleared out his office of everyone aside from Shikaku before letting the bird in. He erected privacy seals before he opened the note. He instantly recognized Genma's neat but rushed handwriting as he read the letter aloud to himself and Shikaku.

 _Lord Third,_

 _We were almost to the border when we stumbled upon the Haruno Caravan under attack. The attacks looked like Leaf ANBU. One attacker was an Aburame and another was a Hyuga. They were in possession of Suna headbands. Unfortunately by the time we intervened all the Haruno clan was wiped out except for a child bearing the necklace of heir. She looks to be the same age as Naruto and Sasuke. She was being protected by two older kids, Shin, who looks like a mini Hatake, and Sai, who uses ink jutsu. Shin admitted that they were supposed to help the attackers but chose not to. Shin can't be older than ten, if that, while Sai can't be older than seven. The wagons appear to be intact, though the oxen pulling them are gone. What do you want us to do?_

 _Patiently waiting for a reply,_

 _Genma Shiranui_

 _P.S. You implied I could keep any and all strays I found. Do these count?_

The Nara in the room grimaced. The Uchiha Massacre was one thing, but a clan of wealthy civilian merchants? That was going to end with the daimyo wanting war against whoever did it.

"What do you think, Shikaku?" asked Lord Third, lighting his pipe.

"I think he wants a war but lucky Genma's group stopped it this time. The Haruno Clan is a huge loss to us, but luckily the heiress survived. The appearance of a possible Hatake and a possible Gaka are nice to have since they are close to extinction in the Hatake's case and the Gaka were considered completely gone with their loss during the Nine-Tails attack. I say give Genma custody of the kids and caravan. If nothing else the caravan can give them a cover if need be. Can a seal be made big enough to contain the wagons?" said Shikaku.

"Yes. I'll make the sealing scrolls if you fill out the guardianship papers and acquire two oxen. I believe the Haruno had twelve wagons this year, but Genma should only really need to use two at the moment. A strong genjutsu should cover the Haruno seals. Genma and the rest should be able to travel as a nomadic family with the wagons. Shin and Sai are too young to be very involved in this so if they have received training from him then I trust Genma, Raido, and Guy to undo it. They helped Kakashi after his father left after all," said Lord Third. Neither man pointed it out that Kakashi had still left the village, just quite a bit later. Both men sat down and started working on what they had to do for Genma's makeshift family. That afternoon two hawks landed at the makeshift camp.

Genma went to the hawks as Raido and Guy started cooking lunch for the kids. One of the hawks had a package and took off right after Genma cut the package off it's leg. The other held a letter from the hokage. Genma broke the seal on it and began to read.

 _Genma,_

 _You are to continue on with your assignment. Sakura Haruno, Shin, and Sai are in your custody as of now. In the package is a scroll of legal documents stating this, as well as for Sasuke. Only use these documents if necessary. I have included storage seals for most of the wagons, as well as two oxen to pull the remaining two. Store the nonessential wagons and go onward under the disguise of a nomadic family. I have also included more supplies to cover the extra children. Be warned Genma. There are great powers at play here. Do not let those children be harmed in any manner. Once you cross the border and leave the Land of Fire, do not enter the Land of Fire again until your mission is completed. A body retrieval squad will be sent out tonight to collect the bodies. I expect you eight to be long gone by then._

 _Stay safe,_

 _Lord Third_

"Just what the hell is going on?" mumbled Genma.

* * *

 **A/N: Is there anyone you would like to see in this story? If so let me know in a review!**


	3. Wolves in the Snow

Shikaku Nara leaned against the door frame of his young son's bedroom. He watched as his six year old son Shikamaru slept peacefully. Shikaku didn't flinch when his wife Yoshino placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Is it true?" asked Yoshino, her worry in her voice.

"The Uchiha and Haruno are both gone," confirmed Shikaku, his eyes never leaving his son.

"And Inoichi? Did he really give up his nephew?" asked Yoshino.

"He was given a choice. Santa or Ino. I would have done the same," stated Shikaku, finally turning to his wife.

"When does this stop? How much longer must we give up our clans children? Our children?" growled Yoshino.

"Civilian children and even children from other villages are now being reported missing. When the conditions are right and Lord Third can perform the ritual, this ends. How is your patient?" asked Shikaku. Yoshino's mind went to her patient, safely tucked away in Nara Forest and guarded by numerous seals and the Nara deer.

"Stable. No change, though getting stronger," reported Yoshino as she turned to go to their bedroom. Shikaku said nothing, numerous thoughts going through his head.

"Shikaku. If they come for my son, I will take him and leave. Loyalty to the Leaf be damned," warned Yoshino. She then disappeared from view.

"Troublesome."

* * *

Genma pulled the reins of the oxen to the left. Genma was driving the front wagon with Shin beside him and the other kids in the back of the wagon. He occasionally heard one of them, usually Naruto as the other three were usually quiet. Raidou drove the second wagon with Guy.

They had been traveling for two weeks and had just entered the Land of Frost. Snow crunched beneath the wagons. Genma heard more than saw Guy cheering at getting off the boat they had ridden. Raidou was cursing the cold, but glad it wasn't currently snowing. Genma was glad they had bought winter gear for the kids in Land of Fangs and the adults had made them change on the boat.

"Why is it so cold?" asked Naruto, tugging her orange knit cap down her blonde spikes.

"Because of the moutains," answered Sakura as she wrapped her red scarf more snuggly around her neck.

"So the white stuff on the ground is snow?" asked Sai as he pulled out a sketchbook and took off his grey gloves to draw.

"You have never seen snow before?" asked Sasuke.

"No. But it is pretty," said Sai.

"Have you seen snow before?" asked Genma . The boy beside him thought for a moment. He looked up from the black gloves he'd been staring at.

"No," answered Shin. Genma hummed as he guided the oxen to the stable of the only inn in the village.

"Welcome to Frost Pass Inn. I'm the stable master. Guro is the name. Two oxen and two wagons?" asked the middle aged man that greeted Genma as he jumped down from his wagon.

"Yeah," answered Genma as he jumped down from his wagon. Raidou jumped down from his wagon beside Genma's. He and Guy joined Genma in front of Guro.

"How long ya staying?" asked Guro as he wrote information down in a ledger. Genma, Guy, and Raidou exchanged glances.

"At least a week," answered Genma.

" Name? " asked Guro.

"Shiranui," answered Genma. He reached up to help Shin down while Guy and Raidou helped the other kids. Shin's cap fell off and he bent down to pick it up. Guro looked at Shino closely.

"Ya related to the man with those wolves?" asked the stable master. That got the adults' attention.

"My uncle has wolves. Do you know his name?" asked Genma.

"Kumo I believe. Don't know the man's family name. Keeps to himself up in the mountains with those wolves of his," answered Guro.

"Do you know where?" asked Genma as he flipped open his wallet.

* * *

Raidou lead the five kids into the inn. The stable master had given them a lead on Sakumo Hatake hopefully. Raidou was all but praying at this point. Yes he was a ninja and yes he could fight and survive in cold, snowy climates. That did not mean he liked it. If Gemna could bag the elder Hatake in a week or less than Raidou was going to be happy. If not then they would have to stay until the Hatake could be convinced. That would seriously suck.

"Two rooms please," said Rai to the red haired woman behind the counter.

"Fine. For how long?" asked the lady.

"At least a week. Maybe longer," answered Rai.

"Fifteen thousand ryo. Another five thousand buys your basic food. Ten thousand buys better food," said the lady.

"Thirty thousand for the rooms, best food ya got and a bottle of sake and bowl of miso ramen to go," said Genma.

" Name? " asked the lady.

"Yours first pretty lady," said Genma as he flashed the lady a smile.

" Amari. Let me get you the keys to your rooms and your food to go, " said Amari, vanishing into what Rai presumed was the pantry of the inn. He turned to look at his partner and friend. Genma was wearing boots, jeans, a dark grey sweater, a dark grey scarf that hung loosely around his neck, and a black bandana kept his shoulder length brown hair out of his eyes. His gloved hands clutched the straps of his backpack as he twirled a toothpick around his mouth. Rai frowned as a thought hit him. Genma hadn't done many missions in the past six years. Granted Genma did do missions, especially assassination ones, but only two or three every few months. Rai was pretty sure he ran at least three times as many missions as Genma. Even with Naruto the man could do more missions. So why didn't he?

"Seals," whispered Guy, startling Rai.

"What?" asked Rai. Guy smirked as Genma bent down to talk to Naruto anansd Sakura .

"You were just thinking what has Genma been doing in the past six years instead of missions. It's seals," answered Guy, proving himself capable of reading thoughts.

"But why?" asked Rai.

"Between Lord Fourth and his wife dying and Lord Jirayia and Kakashi both leaving there was no seal masters left, except for Lord Third. Lord Fourth had started teaching Genma seals with Kakashi's help. That and Genma can't make two handed seals anymore," admitted Guy quietly.

"Hey you two. You two are watching the munchkins while I'm gone. Unless one of you two want to go hiking instead?" asked Genma. Both shook their heads no immediately as Amari came back with the sake and miso ramen in a lidded bowl. She also handed him some chopsticks. He stashed all of it in his backpack.

"Thank you," said Genma. He then bent down to Naruto.

"I gotta go meet with someone but I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise. You be good for Rai and Guy, alright?" said Genma. The normally loud and excited girl just nodded mutely. She then launched herself at Genma and hugged him around his neck, burying her face in his hair and bandana.

"I love you Daddy," said Naruto. Genma wrapped his arms around her to return the hug.

"I love you too sweetheart," said Genma . After Naruto let go Sasuke and Sakura both stole quick hugs. Genma ruffled Sai's and Shin's hair.

"Be good. All of you," ordered Genma as he stood up.

"We will be fine. Don't freeze to death," said Rai. He then made a shooing motion, the keys to the rooms clanking together as he did so. After one last look at his kids, Genma exited the inn and started walking in the direction the stable master had indicated Sakumo always entering town from. He hoped he found the Hatake before night completely fell. He really didn't want to spend the night in snow covered mountains.

After about thirty minutes of walking, Gen reached out with his chakra to sense the area. Genma was not a natural born sensor but had great chakra control. That combined with a lot of practice and experience had made Genma's sensory range about a half mile in all directions. He was pretty sure Sakumo wasn't masking himself. Who did he have to really fear? That and it was practically impossible to sneak up on a Hatake. He didn't sense anything.

He stopped to eat his ramen about an hour of walking later. As he ate, he focused on running chakra through his legs and feet for warmth. He reached out to sense again. Nothing. He sighed. He didn't want to run for fear of missing Hatake or Hatake thinking he was an enemy. His right shoulder ached at that thought. No, walking was the best option, even if it sucked. So he continued walking. It was about two hours later as light started to fade into dusk that it happened.

Genma had been contemplating stopping for the night and setting up his tent when he heard it. Howling. Quickly he reached out with his chakra sense. There was five of them, moving extremely quickly towards Genma. He swore as he was surrounded by the five snarling wolves.

"Look I just want to talk to your summoner," said Genma as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"And why do you want to talk to their summoner?" growled a voice in Genma's ear as a kunai appeared at his throat.

"So you were masking your chakra," grumbled Genma.

"Who the hell are you?" growled the voice , pressed the kunai harder against Genma's throat.

"Genma Shiranui," answered Genma.

"You can't be," growled the man. Genma sighed.

"My name is Genma Shiranui. Ninja registration number zero one zero two zero three of the Leaf. I am twenty two. You, Sakumo Hatake, left the village when I was seven and haven't set foot in said village in the past fifteen years," said Genma. The kunai lowered.

"He smells familiar. But there's a hint of fox," said a wolf as it sniffed Genma .

"There's no foxes here. How you smell like fox?" asked a second wolf.

" The Leaf village holds the Nine-Tailed Fox. To be more specific Kushina Uzumaki holds it, " said Sakumo.

"Your information is out of date. Kushina Uzumaki died six years ago, as did her husband Minato Namikaze," commented Genma as he looked at the ground.

"I see. Well update me, Shiranui," ordered Sakumo , draping an arm over Genma's shoulder and started leading Genma to a nearby cabin hidden in the snow. Genma swore. He would have never found the cabin. Sakumo laughed and sent his wolf pack off to hunt. Sakumo opened the door and turned on an oil lantern.

The lantern illuminated the simple cabin. In one corner there was a bed with a window over it and in another there was a fireplace. There was a sink beside the door with cabinets over it and a table with two chairs. There was a door that Genma assumed lead to a bathroom. Assorted weapons hung on the wall. Sakumo's pack sat at the foot of his bed. On the bedside table sat two pictures. One was of Sakumo and his late wife on their wedding day and the other was of Kakashi and Genma himself as young kids. Sakumo gestured at the table as he went to light the fireplace. Genma placed his backpack on the floor and sat down at the table. He pulled the bottle of sake out.

"You got some cups? My story is kind of long and I don't want to leave anything out," said Genma. Sakumo wordless pulled two cups out of the cabinets and sat across from Genma. Genma poured them each a glass of sake and started.

He told Sakumo about the Third Shinobi War. He told him about Team Choza's run in with the Seven Swordsmen that left Guy an orphan. He told him about Team Minato's disastrous Kannabi Bridge mission that left them with two living members and Kakashi with a Sharingan. He told Sakumo about Rin becoming a Tailed Beast Host and refusing to come back to the village even though Minato had modified her seal in time. He told Sakumo about Orochimaru leaving the village with his student Anko after a fight with the Hokage. Then he told him about Asuma leaving and Minato becoming Lord Fourth, naming Kakashi amd Genma two of his bodyguards. Roukan left for reasons Genma didn't know. Then the Nine-Tails attack and the disaster and death it left in its wake. He talked about Naruto, and briefly mentioned Kakashi leaving the village himself. The civil unrest between the Uchiha and the rest of the village that lead to Shisui and Itachi leaving as well. He finished with the Uchiha and Haruno massacres and the mission he was currently on and who all he was tasked with bringing back. Sakumo remained silent and expressionless the entire story. Finally he spoke.

"I have talked to Oro and Rou in the past year. They will not be hard to find. Jirayia is more than likely wrapped up in grief, as is Kashi. Jirayia is more than likely with the toads, Kakashi however could be anywhere. Tsunade has a home in Moon. The rest I have no idea," admitted Sakumo.

"So you will join us?" asked Genma.

"Tell me, Genma...did you willingly let Kashi leave the Leaf?" asked Sakumo , grey eyes meeting brown.

"No. I tried to stop him. Didn't end so well for me," admitted Genma.

"What happened?" asked Sakumo.

"Long story short we fought, our emotions got the better of us, and right when I said I loved him he hit me with his Chidori. I don't know why but afterwards he ran. Ran from the village. Ran away from me. Guy found me and the hospital medics patched me up as best they could, and I was out of the hospital two days later to go home with my daughter Naruto, " said Genma.

"Chidori is a lightning jutsu. Those always leave lasting damage unless you have an excellent medic. What's the damage, Genma?" asked the frowning Hatake. Genma pulled the right side of the neck of his sweater aside to show Sakumo the spider web like scar on his right shoulder.

"It cut my chakra pathway to my right arm. Tsunade may be able to fix it but I highly doubt it. Luck for me I'm not a ninjutsu specialist," chuckled Genma .

"I believe I'll join you Genma. I would like to have a few words with my son," said Sakumo.


End file.
